Medford, Ore. — The superintendent of Medford schools has laid out his plan for balancing the district’s budget for the 2016-2017 school year.
The district dipped into its reserve funds this year, so while school officials are anticipating receiving about $3 million dollars more for the upcoming school year, its still less than what they spent in 2015-2016. That means about $2.2 million dollars needs to be cut.
Superintendent Brian Shumate’s proposal would reduce spending on some after-school programs, and eliminate 7 teaching positions at the high schools. Shumate says rather than cutting current staff, they plan to not fill vacancies.
“While it’s tough to make cuts, its not the end of the world, we’re gonna be okay,” Superintendent Brian Shumate says, “and we’re certainly still able to maintain some of our strategic initiatives one of which, or what i’m proposing, is to maintain lower class sizes at the elementary schools.”
Increased PERS contributions have also impacted the district’s budget. A public hearing has tentatively been set for May 23rd. The school board has until June 30th to finalize the budget.
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